Security Paranoia Strikes Again, Pilot Error Blamed

A short-term communications failure on a scheduled airliner resulted in yet another evacuation of a number of government offices in the Washington, DC, area.

According to the FAA's Diane Spitaliere, Piedmont Airlines Flight 4352 was enroute to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from Hilton Head, South Carolina, and lost contact during its approach. The result was the scrambling of the North American Aerospace Defense Command's on-duty fighters, based a short distance away at Andrews Air Force Base.

Spitaliere added that, "Shortly after that we reestablished contact with the plane, and it has been on the ground at (Reagan National Airport) for a while. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials are interviewing the pilots."

Another FAA source, Jim Peters, has been quoted in media reports saying that the feds are reviewing a "pilot readback error" that appears to be at the core of the matter. The total comm outage reportedly lasted approximately 15 minutes. Operated as a codeshare flight with US Airways, the deHavilland DHC-8 (Dash 8) is one of 44 (in various configurations) in service with Piedmont.

Among the buildings evacuated were the US Capitol, which was fairly vacant due to the holiday recess. Capitol Police started the evacuation order at approximately 1330 Saturday, according to Sergeant Kimberly Schneider. A little after 1400, police reported that the “threat had dissipated” and personnel were allowed back to their offices.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.norad.mil, http://piedmont-airlines.com